Yahoo Japan to Buy Minority Stake in Cryptocurrency Exchange

A website of Yahoo Japan Corp is seen on a computer screen in Tokyo August 19, 2009. REUTERS/Stringer

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TOKYO (Reuters)

Yahoo Japan Corp said on Friday it would buy a minority stake in a Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange, becoming the latest major Japanese financial services provider to shrug off security concerns and join the digital money industry

Yahoo Japan, which is also the country’s biggest online auction site, said in a statement it would buy through a subsidiary a 40 percent stake in BitARG Exchange Tokyo, with services planned for launch in the autumn.

Yahoo Japan did not give details of the value of the investment. But a person familiar with the matter said it would likely total 2 billion to 3 billion yen ($18.6 million to $27.9 million).